Sliding door for motor-vehicle



.A. BMASURY. SumNG nooR PoR-MOTOR VEHICLES..

" APPLICATION FILED SEPT.-30, i925.

Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

mgm?.

` www cealed position where it` isyinoperative rand rignal application filed February 16,

- MMT-@FICE ALFRED r. Masoni', or NnwYonir, N; Y1, AssiGNoit'ro InTEnNl-ironi'iri MOTOR ooivi-l PANY, or NEW Yoan, N, Y., A o oRPoaA'rIoN or' DELAWARE.

sLi'ninG noon ronivrofiomvnriiciir Ton@ wlw/ni t 'may concern.:

Be 't known' that I, ALFRED Misnn,

a. citizen of the United State`sand a resident reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming 'a part hereof.

In Patent No. 1,180,730, dated April25, i916, granted to the .present applicant onan application of which thisis a division, there are pointed out, at seine length, thendvnntagesof a sliding door fornutoinobiles, ai'i'd' particularly toi' ni'otor trucks and comnierr cial vehicles. yWhile 'it has been proposed heretofore to employ doors whichwill slide' horizontally into Ia concea'ledposition with# in the walls of the body of a vehicle, ithas never'been proposed, so far as isknowmto N provide a door which shallqslide vertically into and outr of operative position. natural that such construction has never It is been' ennoloyedk when the structural diliiculties-0f providing a sightly door which may be lowered verticali tion, are considered.

The' present invention has for its obfiect to provide a door which 'shall be slidable vertically from closed position into'a conto provide, in assooitionwith said door,

suitable means fore-guiding the/saine in its' an automobile to new uses in association',

with the improved.. door.

A further ob'eotis to provideimproved-` nieans for retaining the door in closed position and for releasing the saine to permitk it to drop gravitally into open position. i 45 A preferred embodiment of the' invention will be described in connection with ,the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis la fragmentary view in side elevation of a part of the body of a truck,

showin;T a vertically slidable door. Figr is a iwrinenwry "View in horizontal, section taken on the 'plane'indicated bythe line 2 2 of Fig. i and looking in the direct tion lof the arrows. Fig.' 3 asectipnal view formed --of able; retaining ineans.l

y into `a concealedy posithroughth door s liown'in Fig. l1 and taken von the `pane'ii'idicgite'dby, the line 3-3 of thatftigui'esaqndvlooking` in the, direction of the arrows.;

LThel body'-a Vpiovidedwi'th vert'` lfiiainbs Z) for the improved,verticallyA slidi being deformed .a's\ channels to' receive the' Aedges oi' the" door insliding engagement.

The door,l 0, Uals/ show in Fig. 3, maybe sheet metal ,stamped into appro- *andjprovide with a convenient print handhf I the door niay 'be Vgrasped bythe operator Vandi slid libwardlyto'i'ts closed position in Iwhiclifitxis retained bvl any suitable 'release 'In the illiistratedfeni- V bodiinents'iich meansiare'show'n as compristhe ,vehicle illustrated is Qdoor 0,' these jambs die "adjacent the top edge'whei'eby ing `-ifsliding`bolt dinfoiintedin the o'or a of the car bpdfynndfadj'acent the s ill 'of the door and arranged, when in extended posiv tion, to' enter" a suitable. opening c2 inthe wall' of` the door 'andthereby' maintain the fClOOI` in 'raised 'positiori This bolt zZ-may be. 1

retracted' conveniently" rby' any suitable device's, 'herein illustrate'd as consisting ofan 'elbow lever onear -of which engages the lioltfhndtlieqther arm of which is engaged .by aI pi'nf located within convenient reach ofthe -foot` of'the driver whereby the-bolted inayfbe.retracted 1by pressure of thegfoot. Norinally v'the boltis 'held in its extended position by ineans of la suitable' spring. g.

operatively' 'engaged with they"bolt, as

through the elbow lever e. v i

i n tl'ieimproved construction, the brackets 7i. forsupporti'ng theusual stepzz' have been attachedy to the underside' of the cai-"in gen- 'eral alineinent, respectively, lwith the channels b and the proximate faces of these brackets` have been grooved ror channeled, as

at, 7i', toforin virtualieontinuationsfof 'said channels b` `At the lower edge of `the grooves itt-are formed in the brackets It suitable, shoulders h2 on which the loweifdgeof Y the door .c rests when the dooris'inxlowered position. i It will'beevident that when/the 'b plt al is retracted, the door may be lowered in 'the guidelways formed `bythe channels b and'rfk and, iii; is to'be noted that the lower gu (le-waysv t; are preferably of such' length as d' permit' the 'upper edge ofthe door to dr below the door sill a2;

Infurtherance i oft e general, objects of the invention as regarde the sightliness of the improved door,

the outer wall ofthe body a of the vehicle has been extended ndownwardly to the .step z' so as to form a sightly shield behind which the door moves to its'lowered position. In this-way, not only is the appearanceof the body unbroken by the door when in lowered position but thecontinuity ot the exposed surface is absolute when the door'israised.

The jambs b, of course, are preferably of sneh form' as to maintain this continuity so that when the door c is closedg no open -joints are to be seen, asis usual.

The simplicity of construction, the sightliness of the appearanceof the body both when the door is lowered land when it israised, and the ease of operation thereof,` especially during the lowering where the door moves downward gravitally, are all,y advantages peculiar to thefdoor. and servev to distinguish it from those 'which slide horizontally. I

Changes in details-may, of course, be made without departing from the scope of the in vention which is determined with greater particularity by the appended claims.

I claimas my invention:

l. In combination with the body of a m0- tor vehicle, a door moving vertically to close f the usual doorway in the body, and devices' to guide the door loosely in its vertical movement to opened or closed position, said devices comprising channels formed lin the janibs of the doorway and separate chanl nels mounted beneath the door sill and forming respectively.virtual continnations of the channels in the jambs and `a wall for the vehicle body carried downward over said guide channels to conceal the same and to conceal the door when the latter is"`dropped to opened position. p

2. In combination with the body of a m0- tor vehicle, a door movable vertically to close the usual door way inthe body, channels formed in the .jainbs of the doorway to guide the door loosely 1n its vertical mov'ement, and step brackets secured tothe body below the door sill and having guide channels formed therein to constitute virtual continnations of the channels in the j ambs.

' 3. In combination with the body of-'a Inotor vehicle, a rigid door movable vertically to close the usual `dma-way in the body, devices to guide the door loosely in `its vertical movement to opened o1I closed position2 and releasable means to hold the door in raised position, said means being operable to permit the door to drop gravitally to opened position'and a wall tor the body carried downward to conceal the door when it' is dropped to opened position.

4. In combination with the body of a motor vehicle, a door movable vertically to clo'se the usual doorway 1n the body, channels formed 1n the door ]ambs to guide the door .looselyi in its vertical movement, step brackets secured to the body below the door sill and in substantial alinenient, respectively, with the channels in the jambs and having,r guide channels formed therein to constitute virtual continuati'ons of the channels in the jambs, the last named channels being provided with shoulders to limit the downward movement of the door, a handhold formed in the upper edge of the door to permit the 

